The customer-brand relationship is a living, breathing organism that is in a constant state of flux. Every moment, touchpoint, and experience provides an opportunity to either strengthen or weaken that relationship.
It’s a bit like watching the stock market. In real time, company’s values and trends are moving up and down as a reaction to some environmental action. The same is true for loyalty. The amount of favoritism companies accrue with their customers is always in motion. A timely promotion or seamless checkout experience and the stock ticks upward. A negative customer experience issue or trouble finding what they need and it drops.
What’s interesting is the factors driving these movements are not equally weighted. And what we’re seeing from our research – published in our 2025 CX Trends Report – is that a few shifts are starting to occur in the perception of those positive and negative experiences. What does that say about customer loyalty?
Measuring the Point of No Return
A popular focal point in recent years has been that because consumers have more options at their disposal than ever, they put up with fewer bad experiences before deciding to move on. And it’s true, generally. But there are also some interesting nuggets to pull out by going a step deeper.
Last year, when we asked consumers in our survey how many negative experiences they would put up with before leaving for another brand, 18% said just one, 63% said 2-3, and 15% answered 4-6. Well, that patience has declined even more. This year, 27% said they’d leave after one bad experience, 64% after 2-3, and 8% after 4-6.
However, the generational differences tell two very different stories. For those over the age of 41 who answered, 41% would leave after one bad experience and only 3% would stick around for 4-6. But for the 18-25-year-old demographic coming into the consumer world, only 17% would be willing to leave after one, while 11% would stick it out for 4-6 bad experiences. Those are two very different perspectives on the same topic.
So what can we infer from this? The runway for brands may come down to their target demographics. Gen Zers look to be giving more grace to brands and playing the long game with their loyalty. Compared to older shoppers seeking perfection.
The Power of Experience
The age of consumers also looks to play a role in another factor of loyalty. If we stick with the stock market analogy, older buyers see their loyalty fluctuate more dramatically with each interaction than younger buyers.
When we asked how likely a positive customer experience is at keeping consumers loyal to a brand or retailer, 61% of those 41 and older said it greatly had an impact, compared to 50% of 18-25 year olds. Similarly, more 41+ consumers (41%) felt that negative experiences had a massive impact on their loyalty than those 18-25 (36%). Younger generations look to be slightly more even keeled to the ups and downs of brand engagement. What we don’t know yet is if it is a specific quality of this Gen Z group, or if they will revert to more dramatic reactions once they reach an older age like their predecessors.
But there’s some other good news for brands buried in that data. Did you notice that, despite earlier mentioning how consumers don’t put up with many bad experiences before leaving, their responses to us also indicated that a positive experience is worth more in favor of a brand than a negative experience is against it? So while brands only have so many bad experiences to use before a consumer abandons, they can build even more good will with excellent experiences.
More good news: feelings are trending in a direction that benefits brands. The number of consumers who believe positive experiences are highly important have increased from last year to this year (from 49% to 56%), while the percentage of those who feel strongest that negative experiences hurt loyalty dropped from 52% to 37%.
One consumer gave a great piece of advice to companies that pertains to the always-evolving relationship: never stop learning. He asked that brands “be meaningful in [their] efforts to learn their customers. So many get it right only to lose it…why, I have no idea.”
The Full Scope of CX Trends
Consumers were not shy about sharing with us how their behaviors are changing, what they prioritize in their experiences, and how brands are and aren’t living up to those expectations. For the complete look and to best understand your customers, make sure to download our 2025 CX Trends Report.
Kyle Davis
As the Director of Marketing and Communications, Kyle helps guide the brand messaging, content, and go-to-market approach for Studio Science. He has worked in the industry – from regional marketing consultancies to global agencies – for the past decade working with the agencies to grow their reputations and better engage with their clients and prospects.
